


The Queen's Proposal

by Morbane



Category: Seven Kingdoms Trilogy - Kristin Cashore
Genre: Constructive Criticism Welcome, F/M, Fluff, Politics
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-06-17
Updated: 2014-06-17
Packaged: 2018-02-05 02:39:16
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,610
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1802314
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Morbane/pseuds/Morbane
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Bitterblue has a suggestion. It doesn't go over perfectly, but that's OK.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Queen's Proposal

**Author's Note:**

  * For [redbrunja](https://archiveofourown.org/users/redbrunja/gifts).



> Thanks to [arthurisarthur](http://archiveofourown.org/users/arthurisarthur) for swift and helpful beta feedback.

"This is crazy," Bitterblue muttered.

Flammin, her clerk, looked up with an expression of mild surprise. "The location was well chosen, Lady Queen," he said encouragingly. "It was once a market town..."

"That was abandoned when Thigpen's raids on Murgon's land made trade... impractical," Bitterblue finished for him.

"That's right, Lady Queen," Flammin said. "I admit that there's a lot of work to be done on the buildings ahead of time."

"Indeed there is," Bitterblue said. The torched and ransacked base structures on the border of Sunder and Estill would need to house seven royal retinues. She marched over to the other end of the room, where Giddon was marking up a report.

"This," she said to him, "must be how my advisers felt whenever I proposed anything. Of course my ideas sounded sensible. In fact they _contained_ sense. But I had no idea what bizarre and odd reactions a city of people of impaired sanity might have to my sane plans." It hurt less to talk about Darby and Thiel and Runnemood now. She tested the pain of mentioning them with Giddon, who had known them only in passing, and so would flinch less than almost anyone else.

"Hm," said Giddon, putting a pencil down on his page to mark his place. "Have you changed your mind about the summit?"

Bitterblue considered this quite seriously, and came to the usual impasse. "It's a glorious idea, Giddon," she said, "and maybe it will do all the things that the Council hopes it will do. But it is also very dangerous. While Flammin is going over plans for feeding us for a week, and exactly how many spare horses we ought to take, I'm wondering how many little details need to go into avoiding assassinations."

In September - theoretically - the leaders of all seven kingdoms would meet in a safe and pleasant location and discuss fraught topics such as borders and each other's respective governments. It was Raffin's idea, and Bitterblue could only suppose that he had proposed it in order to give himself and Bann an inexhaustible supply of test subjects for his latest headache medicine.

"By attending, Randa of the Middluns lends legitimacy to the new Councils of Estill and Nander," Raffin had written to Bitterblue, "as do you and Ror. It works the same way, in reverse, for Randa and Murgon. By including them in the negotiations, we show that the other kingdoms aren't plotting behind their backs."

The fear of covert plots seemed a prime motivator for the remaining strongest kings in the land. The representatives of Estill and Nander - who were trying a kind of leadership that was completely new - would have a lot to say to each other in person, and it might not be complimentary to kings. Since his country was situated between them, the Middluns king especially would want to be present for their discussion. Nor would the king of Sunder like to be left out.

According to Katsa's last letter, King Birn of Wester planned to take a cautious approach and send two, perhaps three, of his underlords.

But, reading between the lines, Randa and Murgon had an even stronger reason for agreeing to this unprecedented meeting: the lands' first Council, an organisation that had operated in secret, until now, under the leadership of Katsa and Po and their friends, would also send representatives to the summit of kings.

"That the Council should operate openly is a natural development from the idea of a people's government in Estill and Nander," Po had argued, the last time that Council had met in Bitterblue's castle. "The power of the kings is no longer so great that it can only be opposed in secret; as the power of the Council has grown, so its accountability needs to grow."

"I am surprised by your new enthusiasm for revelations, Po," Giddon had said. Katsa had flushed on Po's behalf.

Bitterblue felt that a summit of kings, and the Council operating openly, were ideas that were dangerous enough on their own. But the combination was especially unpredictable.

"And from whom do you see the most danger of assassinations?" Giddon continued now.

Bitterblue frowned. "Randa, unless King Birn is more devious than we thought. Birn's emissaries will probably be Gracelings."

"Everyone will bring Gracelings of every possible ability," Giddon agreed. "It will be a Graceling trade fair."

"That would be a good idea," Bitterblue said, "if Gracelings could learn each others' abilities."

"There might be some who can."

Flammin came over to them. "Lady Queen, I have a question to ask Berry," he said, referring to her new Captain of the Monsean Guard. "I will return momentarily."

"Of course, Flammin."

Bitterblue looked thoughtfully at Giddon. To her exasperation of a minute ago, he had returned only measured tones; it was far more like him to quip and mock when presented with hyperbole. It was as if her thoughts were an urgent and burbling stream that was rushing into his deeper river, slowing and smoothing out.

"Giddon," she said, "what position are you planning to take at the summit?"

"I imagine I will go as a representative of the Council," Giddon said, taking on a sardonic expression. "I don't imagine Randa will be very happy with that."

"No," Bitterblue agreed. It was a woeful understatement. Randa had already burned down Giddon's former estate, yet that had only strengthened Giddon's resolve to do the Council's work. It was worrying to realise that Randa might want to punish Giddon further, but no longer had an obvious way to do so.

"You are no longer Randa's underlord, and that was his decree. Everyone knows how severely he's already punished you. No one will look with favour on any further action he takes against you," Bitterblue suggested.

"Hm," Giddon said. She could imagine what he was thinking: none of these reasons were any guarantee of safety.

"Giddon," Bitterblue said, carefully, "you are a favoured advisor to the court of Monsea. Let that protect you."

"Or," Giddon said, with his usual sardonic tone, "it will give someone a means for striking at you _without_ striking at you."

"It would be a very effective way to strike at me," Bitterblue agreed, matching his tone. "I would be very unhappy indeed."

Were they saying what she thought they were saying?

"Giddon," she said, "What if you attended as my husband? Would that not protect you?"

Giddon's head snapped up. He stared at her, brows drawn together. He looked... angry. Oh dear. Then, to Bitterblue's complete confusion, and no small embarrassment, he began to laugh.

Flammin came in the door just then. "One moment, Flammin, please," Bitterblue said, with as much dignity as she could manage. Flammin nodded, and trotted back out again. For all Bitterblue knew, he was patiently, politely sitting just outside the door.

Giddon leaned forward, bracing his hands on his thighs, still shaking with laughter. 

Bitterblue was beginning to feel hurt.

"What is it, Giddon?" she asked.

"Lady Queen," Giddon said at last. "You wish to marry me to protect me from Randa? Is that it?" It was his most mocking tone.

"It was a thought," Bitterblue said.

"Only a thought?" Giddon said, a little more kindly.

"Giddon," Bitterblue said, instead of answering, "why is that so funny?"

Giddon relaxed a little. "Lady Queen," he said. "I will tell you, if you promise not to discuss it with anyone."

"Very well."

"Well, the truth of it is," Giddon said. "I once proposed to Katsa, with almost the same reasoning."

Proposed to _Katsa_? Suddenly, quite a number of things made sense. Except the idea that Katsa had ever needed protection for any reason.

"It didn't go well," Bitterblue said.

"Indeed," Giddon said. "She was quite insulted, I believe."

Bitterblue flushed again. "I'm sorry, Giddon."

"Hm." He was smirking at her.

"Giddon," she said, rallying, "be fair. How exactly _does_ a queen propose, and pretend that no consideration of power comes in to it? Why should I not point out the most useful part of marrying me?"

Really, she felt as if she were caught between a rock and a hard place. There were plenty of underlords and people of high position in Monsea who wanted the queen's wealth and influence. Bitterblue understood that. In fact, if someone had pretended to court her without thinking of her position at all, she would think them a fool. She did not think that she was difficult to like, but she did not think that these underlords wanted her for being the small, lumpy person she was - more graceful after years of Katsa's fighting lessons, but still small and lumpy. It was hard to believe any flattery she received did not, in the end, come back to her queenship.

"I suppose it is difficult," Giddon said, still smirking. "Have you tried saying, 'I have large and lambent eyes, I have an excellent head for figures, I will not tolerate your nonsense, and you will find yourself a better person for having known me'?"

"I have not," Bitterblue said stiffly.

"Mm," Giddon said. "Just a tip."

She watched him with a small amount of resentment. Giddon was tall and handsome and dashing. Proposals ought to come a lot easier to him. But Katsa had turned him down.

"We are friends, aren't we, Giddon?" she said.

"Indeed we are, Lady Queen," Giddon said. "We get on extremely well, which is a much better basis for a proposal, I think, than an offer of queenly power, or even lambent eyes."

"Oh," said Bitterblue. "Are you saying..."

"I didn't answer you the first time, Lady Queen," Giddon said, maddeningly. "Maybe you should try again."


End file.
